Joe Stevenson vs. Danny Castillo Latest Addition To UFC On Versus 3

Paulo Thiago recently had to withdraw from his UFC on Versus 3 fight with Johny Hendricks. It looks like Hendricks will now have to wait for a future fight card to get back in the Octagon.

A lightweight bout pitting Joe Stevenson against former WEC fighter Danny Castillo has been verbally agreed to for UFC on Versus 3. The addition of Stevenson vs. Castillo ups the fight count to 12 for the March 3 card in Louisville, Ky.

Stevenson (31-12) has undergone a rough stretch in the Octagon recently. He lost his last two bouts, to Mac Danzig and George Sotiropoulos, and has gone 3-5 in his last eight bouts. Stevenson is a hard-nosed fighter with a reputation for leaving it all in the cage, however, and the UFC is reluctant to cut him loose.

“We like guys that fight, we like guys that come in and lay it on the line,” said UFC president Dana White after Stevenson’s loss to Danzig at UFC 124. “Joe Stevenson’s had a bad run, it’s so tough to cut a guy that comes in and does what he’s supposed to do, and he’s one of those guys.”

Castillo (10-3) is a member of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male. He went 5-3 during his tenure in the WEC and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Will Kerr and Dustin Poirier. The bout with Stevenson will mark Castillo’s UFC debut.